A REFUGE IN SARDINIA In the May 2015 edition (Issue 77) of the Over Kellet View, we reported on a visit to Over Kellet by Carla Tiana, daughter of our Sardinian friends Giovanni and Tiziana; we mentioned that Carla and her brother had recently opened a bed and breakfast establishment in their home town of Cabras on the west cost of Sardinia. Although a number of people requested more details, we had to admit that we had never actually seen Carla’s B&B. However, in April, whilst visiting some of our other friends in Sardinia, we seized the opportunity to take a good look it for ourselves. Cabras is a small town which has changed little over time. A mile or so from the city of Oristano in the central-western part of the island of Sardinia, it lies in the northern part of the Campidano plain, on the shore of the Stagno di Oristano, a large, primarily freshwater, pond which connects by a system of channels to the sea. Carla’s B&B (1, S’Apprigu―Sardinian for The Refuge) is located in one of the narrow streets of Cabras. Comprising three double bedrooms, two en-suite and all with television and free wi-fi, a well-appointed kitchen and dining area, and a spacious roof-top veranda, it is beautifully furnished in the simple and elegant manner so typical of Sardinia. To find out more about S’Apprigu, and to see some excellent photographs of the interior, check the entry on www.booking.com where the B&B receives a “Superb” rating of 9.3. Guests at S’Apprigu are treated with the greatest courtesy and are afforded all possible assistance during their visit. They are presented with a map specially designed for Carla, showing the main tourist attractions around Cabras and to the north of the Gulf of Oristano, and giving recommendations regarding bars and restaurants in the town. A REFUGE IN SARDINIA Carla points to the B&B’s telephone number on the map, and says “Call us at any time. We’re always here to help―whatever you may need.” A small, newly-built museum in Cabras houses a well-presented exhibition of the history and archaeology of the Sinis peninsula on which Cabras is located, including, as its centre-piece, several extraordinary giant prehistoric statues found in the region (2). Carla makes an excellent guide to this, to the prehistoric remains of dwellings (towers called nuraghi, 3) which abound in this part of Sardinia, and to the area marina protetta, the marine protected zone which includes the Stagno di Cabras and nearby coast region. Probably the most impressive of the tourist venues is the ruined city of Tharros (4), founded by the Phoenicians in the 8th century BC and further developed during the Roman and early Christian eras. Not far from Tharros is San Giovanni di Sinis, with its golden beach and many prehistoric tombs carved into the coastal rock. For a stroll by the Gulf of Oristano, there is nowhere better than the lungomare, or promenade (5), of the charming village of Torre Grande, only a short drive away from Cabras, with its excellent restaurants and pizzerias facing the sea. In the surrounding countryside there are even more treasures to be found, including the mysterious holes called Domus de Janas (6), the houses of fairies according to folk lore, which are carved, often inaccessibly, in rocks and cliff faces. If anyone would like to have more details of this little refuge in Sardinia, we would be delighted to oblige. Neil and Susan Johnson.